Muddy Puddles!

One of their favorite shows at the moment is Peppa Pig about a precocious British Piglet whose favorite activity is jumping in muddy puddles. It was a rainy Spring day and we decided to walk down to the church and find some muddy puddles of our own.

They weren't sure what to think when I gave them total freedom to get soaking wet and jump in the puddles:



They were even more surprised to see Pai jump in on the action:




And, of course, the next day we revisit the puddle and I tell them they can't jump in it, so they find a loop hole.  To be fair, they weren't getting in the water as I'd instructed:

Carefree and shirtless

Earlier in the spring, we rented a plot at a garden down the road from us as a project for the boys.  They were excited to help dig in the earth and plant some seeds. 

 

A couple of times a week, we head down, check out the plants and water the plants.  The boys love it and are really getting in touch with nature.

 

One unseasonably warm day, Ethan "accidentally" sprayed Noel with the hose.  Without a back-up shirt, Noel embraced one of the upsides of being a guy and went shirtless.  Ethan, of course, followed suit and they spent the afternoon exploring and being boys:

 

 

The bikes and scooters aren't super mobile on the thick grass, so Ethan makes do:

 

A new playground at the church has become their new favorite adventure:

Noel saw a spider web and decided to come back down:

Creative painting

The boys are really into painting right now.  Their skills have gotten better over the past few months evolving from painting blobs on paper and telling us what they are into them telling us what they're painting before hand and there being a resemblance (reference Noel's "Lots of Sharks" and Ethan's "Thunderclouds with Rain").

Check out some of their earlier work below.  It's strategically cropped as Noel found himself to be more "inspired' without pants on:

Then the boys revisited a medium they always find hilarious - our faces:

Spring with the boys...

We'd just finished swim class one Spring afternoon and while walking back to the car, the boys stumbled upon some dandelions.

It's one of those videos I innocently captured, but after watching it, realized how it perfectly captured the boys in an unabashedly happy moment.  Who doesn't like blowing dandelions on a warm afternoon while enjoying a lollipop?

I imagine this is a video I'll watch on a loop after the boys are grown up and gone.  In the dark.  With Kleenex.  And Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  And Queso.  And Cake.... 

The Boys Cathcing on Quickly

The boys got their bikes and scooters around the same time this year.  I think we expected a longer learning curve in being able to ride these around the neighborhood, but they took to them in no time.

It was also interesting to see our historically "watch and see" Noel join in Ethan's "Figure It Out" mentality and bravely jump on, fall off, and get back on.  Before we knew it, Noel was teaching Ethan how to use the brake on the scooter - "Look Ethan, do it like this" as well as teaching him his favorite trick the "Get Low" where he'd try and get his knee to touch the ground while the scooter was still in motion.

A few shots and videos below of the boys riding around the beighborhood:

Ethan taking an early lead on the scooter while Noel is working on the balance bike:

Noel catching up to us:

A different day, but the usual result.  They get tired of riding and I have to carry the bikes back while they happily hold hands:

 

And lastly, a cute video of the boys riding their scooters one Friday afternoon.  Ethan's closing phrase is curtosy of  Uncle Ronnie: